Palestine Today 08 24 2011

Two Palestinian killed in the Gaza Strip and a home-made shell lands in Egyptian territories, these stories and more coming up, stay tuned.

Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported that a resistance fighter was killed, on Wednesday at dawn, and another resident was injured when the Israeli Air Force fired missiles at a car driving in Tal Al Sultan area, west of Rafah city, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

The slain fighter was identified as Ismail Al Asmar, 34, one of the field leaders of the Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad. The brigades said another group of fighters escaped an assassination attempt on the same day in Deir el-Balah and vowed “fierce retaliation”.

The assassination was carried out less than 24 hours after the resistance in Gaza declared ceasefire, mediated by Egypt, in an effort to avoid further tension that followed the Thursday Eilat attack that led to the death of eight Israelis.

The Israeli army claimed that the fighter "was involved in terrorist attacks in Sinai", and in "smuggling weapons and munition into Gaza".

In other news, Egyptian security sources said that a home-made shell landed on Egyptian territory Wednesday morning.

The source said that Egyptian security officers headed towards the landing point 300 meters away from the borders with the Gaza Strip, and said that shell landed in a open area causing no damage or casualties. The source added that the shell was seen coming form Gaza Strip direction, and pointed out that a number of shells landed in Egyptian territory during the past week.

Staying in the Gaza Strip, medical teams found the body of an old man in a farmland that came under artillery attack wednesday morning. The source identified the as dead Ismael Ammum 65, and said that his body was mutilated.

In the West Bank, dozens of extremist Israeli settlers of the Beit Ayin illegal settlement, north of Beit Ummar, near Hebron attacked on Tuesday evening, Palestinian orchards and farmlands and uprooted dozens of Olive trees, Plum trees, and grapevines

Mohammad Awad, spokesperson of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, reported that the settlers uprooted and cut 50 trees that belong to Hammad Al Sleiby, and his brothers.

Awad added that this is the fourth time Israeli settlers trespass into this farmland and cause damage, in recent years.

That was some of the news from Palestine Today, for more updates, please visit our website at www.imemc.org. Thank you for joining us. This reports has been brought to you from Occupied Bethlehem, but Hussam Qassis and me, George Rishmawi.